SPECIAL 1 Day a Month Tasting Menu: RECETTE ( AMAZING and MEMORABLE)

The good news was, Red Farm was too booked to seat me. So I strolled a few blocks and saw Recette wasn't too busy, so I went in. The decor was different, they had a wine table set up in middle of the room. The place was quiet , the music was jazz and later some soul music. A big difference in atmosphere from the usual. It was a special evening at Recette. On the second Monday of the month, chef Jesse Schenker(sp), does a special tasting menu. Each month it will vary. It is a 10 course meal, plus amuses and petits fours.The cost is $125 , ($200 with wine pairing). The meal was fantastic. The flavors of each dish went quite well together. The progression of the dishes was perfect. The service was impeccable. Below are photos ( I need a better phone cam),and abbreviated descriptions as follows:1st amuse: a caviar dish ( i think osetra) was delicious2nd amuse: sunchoke flan was perfect3rd amuse: char and oyster tartare was a delightful dish, and a large dish for an amuse(photo below)4th amuse: firefly squidFIRST COURSE: bay scallops over potato and hazelnut caramel, trout roe and kale. A very pleasing dish. I happen to love fresh bay scallops.SECOND COURSE: Greek Whipped Yogurt with Apple, Parsnip and Carrot salad, with white anchovy tempura, nuts and seeds. A wonderful mix of flavors and textures.THIRD COURSE: A corn soy "dumpling" with chopped clams, along side pork rilette, in a dash broth. The flavors were excellent together. The dash was unbelievable and warm. The other components were chilled. At first the difference in temperatures turned me off, but after consideration, it wasn't a bad idea to mix temperatures in a dish.FOURTH COURSE: Tempura of Spot Prawn,over foie gras and prawn tartare with miso veloutte. It was a very well thought out dish.FIFTH COURSE: "Langamafish" is what the chef named the dish. It was a stuffed branzino, stuffed with a stuffed langouustine ,and calamari. in a mildly spicy tomato puree,black garlic aioli, lemon curd.This was my favorite dish, it was fantastic.SIXTH COURSE: A pumpkin fettucini with braised chicken and pancetta, in a sous vide egg yolk. A take on Carbonara. It was very well made. The portion was perfect size.SEVENTH COURSE: Sweetbread and Rabbit Terrine.Made with rabbit legs, kidney and chorizo stuffing and a cranberry gastrique. It was a good dish , except it had a couple of tiny rabbit bones which I didn't expect to be there.EIGTH COURSE: Grilled Venison, with smoked bone marrow, over a chestnut puree, and black charred salsa verde, along side the venison was thin sliced persimmon and quince. This was my second favorite dish. It was amazing.NINTH COURSE: This was the first of the dessert type courses. It was an apple pancake, similar in fashion to a scallion pancake. Accompaniments were pear grapefruit marmalade, pine vanilla jam,yuzu curd, and spicy bacon ice cream. Another great dish, and served like cheeses or foie gras, i.e. sweet accompaniments lined up.TENTH COURSE: the chef calls it " Sweet Potato Pie". it has the spices of pumpkin pie. There is a sweet potato, a spice semifreddo, pecan, chocolate streusel,meringue coulis, gateux. ( A purple creamy , almost creme fraiche yam) see photo. PETITES FOURS: one of them was white chocolate truffle which actually had a truffle taste.Again this was a memorable fantastic meal. Up there with the best of the best. I look forward to December's meal.

Nice report. Just curious - you said you strolled up to Recette, but did you know about this monthly tasting menu event beforehand? Also, their website says that for "Mondays with Jesse" that they accept reservations for 2 or 4 people. Were you able to go as a solo diner?

The portions look relatively large as well for such a long tasting menu. BTW, I would have guessed the "Langamafish" dish probably to be my favorite as well. Glad you enjoyed it the entire meal.

I've been to Recette before, so I kind of knew the food. I had no idea about the "Monday with Jesse" menu. The dishes were nothing like the regular menu or the regular tasting menu. As I walked in the hostess informed me that they are "only" offering this special menu. Unlike the usual , where you can do tasting or a la carte. This was just the tasting menu. The 10 course meal seemed like it would be too much food, but it worked well for me. I was not overstuffed. I ate for 2 1/2 hours. I dined solo. There are a limited number of tables, so if it catches on for next month, I can see them not wanting solo diners at a table. However, the counter/bar would seem a good option.

Gotcha. From the website, it seems like they've had this since Sept 2010 (with prior menus online). I've been to Recette once about a year back, but did a la carte. I did enjoy the food a lot. The tasting menu sounds like its worth a return trip.

I looked around and it seems like you are the only one (or one of few) that have written about this tasting menu. Thanks again for the report.

I'll be sure to be there the 2nd Monday in December. It may be a whole nuther kind of food. They said the chef might even do a Southwestern Menu. He is quite talented and i'm sure any style of cooking Recette serves will be great. This special menu, is way better than the normal day to day tasting menu.

This is just a reminder, for those that didn't see my original post. This coming Monday is the 2nd Monday of the month. Recette will have a special tasting menu, different from the incredible one I had in November. I am going to try to be there. I recommend it highly.